


Obligation - an Underfell Alphyne Ficlet

by RavenZaphara



Series: Soul-Searcher AUs [4]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Confessions, F/F, This is the Committee of Happiness and Relief, but not necessary, fell angst and fluff, inspired by a vocaloid song, mostly just world building., related to Fell-Searcher, takes place in a timeline when frisk didn't go past the ruins, trigger warning for dystopia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-23
Updated: 2016-11-23
Packaged: 2018-09-01 17:26:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8632156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenZaphara/pseuds/RavenZaphara
Summary: Undyne was scared. She would not admit it, even to herself, but she didn't need to.The only person who needed to know would know, because Undyne couldn't hide anymore.She didn't want to hide anymore.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Fell-Searcher](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7699030) by [RavenZaphara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RavenZaphara/pseuds/RavenZaphara). 



> posting this from my tablet. kill me.
> 
> will properly embed the video as soon as i can.

Alphys watched through the screen as the Champion of the King's Guard, Undyne, cut down the most recent Upstart. She pressed the button, and founts of water, sparkling and pure, showered the dust-covered warrior, glistening her flawless sapphire scales. Undyne grinned, her smile so intimidating, but it excited Alphys.

She told herself this was enough, seeing the battle-hardened Champion in her element... but her screen caught a glimpse of a slipping facade as she retreated into her chamber from the Arena. Alphys pressed another button for Mettaton to emerge and remind everyone of their Obligation.

She got up and walked quickly, thinking of any number of excuses she could use this time. Was she hurt? Was she--? She realized she was still holding a wrench and tossed it over her shoulder. Fuck excuses, she was absolutely _certain_ she was needed.

Waterfell had always been pleasant to visit, if there were no others around. Alphys herself was never much for fighting personally, but she'd always known how to hide or run from her problems. Hell, she was a pro at it.

There was a tiny overlook from which Undyne usually kept watch, swathed in ominous shadow, the gleam of her exposed eye sending chills through any and all who tried to pass through. No one would dare challenge her nowadays, at least not without enough people at their back. Organizing a resistance was difficult to do without notice.

Alphys felt like tonight was one of the nights where Undyne would be there in the quiet area, the glow of her eye hidden, sitting as if unsure of herself, curled up, watching the water flow into the abyss. As if water could purge the dust spilled, or the heady, massive LOV that stained her. She was unsure why Undyne required these nights of solitude, when she could literally do anything else. What puzzled her even more was her continued tolerance of her presence.

Undyne never once asked Alphys to leave-- Alphys, of course, never deluded herself. This was a perk of them working together. Why Undyne needed her at all was beyond her, but Alphys was able to lend a safe area to the person she most admired.

When Alphys arrived she saw she’d been right. Undyne sat silently, taking up as little space as she could. Alphys didn't make a noise as she sat down awkwardly next to the Champion. Undyne didn't look up, but Alphys noticed a tension in her muscles that quickly disintegrated when she realized who it was who had appeared.

Undyne only ever let her guard down around Alphys, and sure, it was dumb. It was a terrible mistake she would regret making one day. If Alphys ever decided to use Mettaton to his fullest capabilities, he could surely keep order if Alphys decided to kill her and take her territory...

...and yet...

"You were amazing as always." Alphys stammered, looking down at her hands.

Undyne wondered about Alphys in many ways. How did she hold sautering tools, for one, with those tiny pudgy hands? but she also wondered about other things. Like why she felt so safe around her, why she wanted to let go of all the tension that threatened to tear her apart at the seams.

Undyne wondered how her mother bore this feeling? She had never gotten used to the feeling of dust in her scales... it reminded her all too much that one day she'd feel the dust coming from under her scales as she succumbed to a foe more skilled than she.

But... she looked at the nervous reptile with her oversized glasses and tiny, fidgeting hands. Maybe tonight was the night where she'd reveal just how much of a coward she was.

"Do you remember... when we'd see everyone line up along the border of our territories to listen to Mettaton, and to cheer our alliance, our loyalty to Asgore? Do you... remember how hopeful everyone was that this could be different?"

Alphys stared at Undyne. She couldn't speak. She'd never heard Undyne sound like this before, and... it frightened her. "Y-yes."

"Did you see them tonight?" She was still so quiet, so calm. But not distant. There was no false smile, just a dark acceptance.

Alphys had seen the people, though she refused to say what it likely meant. Rather than standing at attention eagerly, so many of them had been plugging their ears-- it was the Universal Taunt against them, a symbol of rebellion against the lies of the dystopia they'd built together.

"They were so afraid." She said, hoping that was all it was.

That wasn't how Undyne saw it. "They're hungry."

"They won't survive the night." Alphys said, remembering Mettaton and his chainsaw arms. As much as Alphys hated the Obligation Asgore had imposed on the Underground, she would unflinchingly order it be upheld.

Undyne looked away. "There will always be more. there will always be someone out there to challenge me. And one day, I'll lose."  
There was an unspoken hint there, and Alphys heard it too clearly. She, too, had mused more than once about letting the daily activities consume not just her time and morality, but her life as well. She only now realized that Undyne had no one else to admit this to-- and the nature of their paper-thin facade demanded that smile never slip, that bone-deep self-loathing never bubble to the surface.

And yet... here she was, confiding to the one person in this world she could trust.The one person with the power, the ability, to take her and break her like no one else ever would be able to.

She was ready to break tonight. She would smile in victory or in death, but something had to give tonight. She couldn't live just to kill anymore. She couldn't live this hollow life, never knowing if she could ever be more than a glorified executioner.

"Listen, Alphys. I will only say this once--"

"You aren't allowed to die." Alphys said . "I know i'm just a nerdy loser who would have died years ago if they didn't take the coward's way out at every turn... but..."

Undyne turned to stare at Alphys and as the two of them stared at each other, Undyne's eyes lit up and she let out a reserved but genuine laugh. "You? A coward?" Her eyes crinkled shut as her smile grew. "YOU approached ME for peace talks! You have more guts than any of the bastards down here, Alphys." She thought of something else and snorted gracelessly. "Hell, you've met my MOTHER! and SURVIVED!"

Alphys didn't respond, waiting for the punchline.

"As i was saying, though... I respect you a lot, Alphys. And we've been... working together for a long time." There was an uneasy pause there. "You... you've been there to listen to me, you've talked to me. You treat me like a person... rather than... what I've fallen to."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not a monster anymore. I feel like... a human. It's gross and terrible and every time I kill I feel even worse. I'm afraid Mom wouldn't even approve now." Undyne didn't mention that she was too afraid to visit her mother for fear of making her a target. Living in Asgore’s back yard was hardly protection enough.

The silence consumed them again, until Undyne fought the uphill battle to return to her topic.

"But you make me forget that. You make me feel... like there's a part of me I can still hold onto, you know? Like there's a part of me that isn't attached to a spear or sword."

Undyne broke eye contact at last, her confidence only hanging by the barest of threads. "I... I want more of you." There was a vulnerability, a softness to those words that Alphys hadn't expected. This was a dream, surely. Next, she'd see the surface and skip merrily through fields of clover or some such bullshit.

"...m-me?" She finally managed to express her doubt.

Undyne nodded, her gaze piercing Alphys again. "Look, I understand if... you don't want that. It's a... shitty thing. It's what weak monsters do, right?" Her gaze hardened. "But I'm fucking weak, Alphys, and if I'm going to be weak, the least I can do is use it to make you stronger."

"You-- you're.... asking t-t-to?!"

"Bond with me. That way, I can keep you safe, and I'll have a reason to keep winning. For you." She paused and took a breath. "If you do not want that, I understand." She looked away swiftly. "But it would be mutually bene--"

"Yes. Yes, let's do that. Hurry, while Mettaton is out executing!" The reptile had gotten up and grabbed Undyne's hand, pulling her to her feet and dragging her toward the lab.

Undyne laughed again, and the sound gave Alphys a healthy jolt of excitement. That was a noise _she_ caused, made by a person she cared about-- and she could admit it shamelessly right now!

"Uh, maybe we should stick to my territory?" Undyne offered. "That way... we don't have to rush?"

Alphys felt herself blush, but let the Champion, _Her_ Champion, lead her away.

The streets were empty save for the sound of Mettaton chanting: "To be happy is your Obligation!"

For once... Alphys didn't feel like a hypocrite.

**Author's Note:**

> im very tired.


End file.
